


The Cards We Play

by offbeatBeauty



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Disastershipping, Fluff and Humor, High School, Identity Reveal, Light Flirting, M/M, Magic Cylinder is a good way to start a relationship, Multi, No AI's, Protective Takeru, Ryouken comes off as creepy but Yusaku's into it, Spectre's here (sort a), They play Duel Links
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-11-30
Packaged: 2019-09-02 19:42:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16793518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/offbeatBeauty/pseuds/offbeatBeauty
Summary: Yusaku didn't expect his high school life to become interesting until Ryouken showed up. Who is he and why does Takeru not like the way he looks at Yusaku?





	The Cards We Play

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lilyliegh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilyliegh/gifts).



There were a lot of things Yusaku hadn’t accounted for when he came to school today. One, the amount of homework that had been assigned previously had been delayed by a week. Two, that one of his….lab partners was sick and had Yusaku’s notes with him. And three, the new transfer had a jawline that Yusaku could only dream to have.

“Students. This is Ryouken Kogami. He’ll be joining your class as of today. Please make him feel welcomed.”

Yuskau had sat up, more at attention, as the teacher talked about where Ryouken was from and why he transferred two grades below where he should be. The words blurred into background noise as Ryouken’s piercing gaze scanned the room, expression blank before settling on Yusaku. Yusaku hadn’t noticed as the teacher continued talking, getting lost in the pool of crystal blue orbs until he snapped out of the trance when Ryouken took the empty seat across from him.

Ryouken nodded, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he looked over to Takeru sitting beside Yusaku. Takeru smiled politely before making a scene by scooting his chair closer to his friend.

The class went on like normal. Apparently the teacher assigned Ryouken to Yusaku’s group since they were to only ones with three people. Yusaku went back to half paying attention to the lesson and half wondering what the newest card packs would be later tonight in VRAINS. His attention soon shifted to the back of Ryouken’s hair, wondering what product he used to make it look like that.

“Yusaku, aren’t you writing this down?” Takeru whispered, scribbling in his own notebook. Yusaku blinked, glancing over to the teen hunched over the desk.

“Shima has my notebook.”

Takeru huffed, rolling his eyes before grabbing a fresh notebook from his bag, but didn’t get a chance to give it to Yusaku as one had already appeared in front of him. Ryouken was moving his hand away.

“I had an extra.” He stated flatly, turning back to the board. Yusaku and Takeru were dumbstruck at the action. Takeru tucked the rejected notebook back in his bag, muttering under his breath. Yusaku slowly opened to the first page and started writing. He also noticed Ryouken didn’t have a notebook by him.

* * *

Lunch time rolled around and the cafeteria was packed with teens trying to find a clear table for their group. It was a chaotic rite of passage to the high school life and luckily Yusaku never had to go through it. Takeru had always found a way to snatch a table near the windows for them.

“Did you hear the new box is going to be adding 60 new cards today? People are already confirming some of the leaks from months ago.” Takeru scrolled on the forum, sending a link to Yusaku.

“Are they adding new sleeves as well?” Yusaku sat down, instantly looking at the news. They were selling a new set of sleeves, along with a new mat and special packs for microtransaction users.

“Yeah, but they aren’t anything special. To be honest, I like the plain backs more th-” Takeru’s sentence was cut short as another tray placed gently beside Yusaku, Ryouken sat down next to him.

It seemed like the boy didn’t feel the awkward air around Yusaku and Takeru, not used to having company other than Shima. Ryouken started eating, looking at the two confused boys.

“Is there something wrong?” Ryouken raised an eyebrow.

“Not really.” Takeru shrugged, looking back at his phone, “You could’ve asked though, to sit with us.”

“I have to ask to sit with friends?” Ryouken set down his utensils, an amused expression in his facial features as he looked over to Yusaku. Yusaku wasn’t sure how to respond, opting to stare at his untouched food.

“Didn’t you just transfer?” Takeru glanced up, eyes narrowed.

“That really has nothing to do with it.” Ryouken continued eating, not phased by the harsh glare he was receiving. “But I heard you talking about cards. Do you play?”

“Who doesn’t?” Takeru chuckled, “The new box coming out looks awesome. I wanna test out the new meta and hopefully get to Platinum. I usually stick with the pyro based monsters. I heard they were creating AIs now to help the player. The mechanics aren’t totally figured out yet.”

Yusaku noticed the muscles in Ryouken’s tense.

“I’m not much of a fan of that newest feature.” Ryouken cleared his throat, “Do you play VRAINS?”

It took a moment for Yusaku to realize Ryouken had spoken to him. He shook his head, “Not really.”

“Oh?” Yuskau could hear the amusement in Ryouken’s voice as he leaned a bit closer, “I heard something about card sleeves. Don’t tell me you play Pokemon.”

“I meant I do play, just as a casual duelist though.”

“What deck do you run?” Ryouken rested his chin in the palm of his hand.

“Nothing special…” Yusaku glanced at Takeru for help.

“He has a lot of the older cards. He once kicked my ass with Black Pendent and Vorse Raider.” Takeru quickly interrupted.

“Really?” Rather than being vaguely disgusted, as was the appropriate reaction to hearing that somebody used Vorse Raider, Ryouken was intrigued. “Most people don’t bother looking through old cards since they’re so out of the meta, but you can make some interesting combinations with new cards that people don’t expect. I think that’s the sign of a great duelist.”

That wasn’t what either boy was expecting. “Thanks.” Yusaku wasn’t sure how to proceed in this conversation. Luckily he didn’t have to as Ryouken continued.

“I have a few older cards of my own that I use in my deck. The other day I dueled someone, thinking my victory was inevitable. How could I lose with Magic Cylinder on my side of the field, right?”

Wait...Magic Cylinder?

Yusaku looked up quickly, meeting Ryouken’s eyes as the amused smirk was back on his lips. The duel from yesterday ran through his head as he remembered facing off against his online friend.

_Playmaker finished setting up his side of the field, moving to battle phase. He looked over at his rival, Revolver, and the almost empty field that lay between them. Revolver’s poker face was impeccable as ever, expression hidden by his mask. He had a smirk, of course, but he always did. Revolver was too good at this game to reveal his plans so easily._

_One face down card. Both of their lifepoints hanging by a thread. This was it._

_Playmaker declared a direct attack, waiting to see what Revolver had up his sleeve._

_Revolver’s grin widened. “You activated my trap card.”_

_Playmaker figured as much._

_“Magic Cylinder!”_

_That… wasn’t what Playmaker was expecting. He didn’t know where you would get that card in the first place. But Revolver always did the unexpected, which was why he was so fascinating. Not that it mattered._

_Playmaker raised his arm. “Trap Jammer.”_

_Revolver’s smirk disappeared instantly, eyes wide with disbelief. “Trap Jammer? You’re not going to use a monster effect, or…”_

_“If I used a monster effect, I know you have cards to negate it,” Playmaker explained simply. “I put this card in just for you.”_

_“Just for me? I’m flattered,” Revolver said as his lifepoints ticked down to zero. “Do you think of me whenever you make a deck?”_

_Playmaker wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he just shrugged._

_“Hmm, aloof as always. You know that just draws more attention, right Playmaker?” Revolver put one hand on his hip, gesturing with the other. “It certainly had an affect on me."_

_“I thought you liked my dueling skills,” Playmaker said, puzzled._

_“That too.” Revolver chuckled, walking over to Playmaker. “Good game though. I see I need to revise my deck once more. I’ll be thinking of you this time.”_

_“Some of it is luck. I just had the right card.” Playmaker shrugged, “How did you get Magic Cylinder?”_

_Revolver pressed a finger to his lips, smiling, “That’s a secret.” Revolver turned on his heels, waving a hand behind him, “I’ll see you tomorrow Playmaker.”_

Yusaku jolted at Takeru waving a hand in front of his face. “Earth to Yusaku? Hey!”

“Sorry.” Yusaku looked back at Ryouken who still had that amused smirk on his lips.

“That took longer than I expected.” Ryouken chuckled, getting up with his tray. Yusaku and Takeru watched as he walked away, Takeru confused and Yusaku awestruck.

“That was o-hey where are you going?!” Takeru yelled as Yusaku got up, running after Ryouken.

It didn’t take him long to find the other boy, Ryouken was in their classroom by the windows. He looked over at Yusaku who entered the room, a bit out of breath from running up the stairs. Yusaku hadn’t thought about what he would do or say when he caught up with the other boy. Yusaku didn’t have many friends which led to many awkward situations when it came to group activities. Takeru and Shima were the only exceptions and even then Yusaku hadn’t played an active role in getting those friendships started.

Shima hadn’t left his side since day one of school. Even when Yusaku expressed no interest in what the boy had to say, even calling him a horrible duelist, Shima never failed to be at his side and talking his ear off about his idol.

Takeru had come into his life much like Ryouken had. They met playing VRAINS, Yusaku having kicked his ass in PVP and Takeru asked to become friends. Now that he thought about it, Takeru had found his identity in the same sort of way Ryouken had.

“Is lunch finished already?” Ryouken asked, arms crossed over his chest.

“No,” Yusaku walked a bit closer. “Revolver?”

Ryouken couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous that sounded, “Wasn’t that obvious? I think I made it pretty clear.”

“Crystal.” Yusaku leaned on the window sill, a few feet away from where Ryouken was standing. “I just wanted to make sure.”

A few minutes of silence went by. Yusaku was scared that if he didn’t ask then he’d never find out. But as usual, Ryouken beat him to the punch.

Yusaku turned to see Ryouken staring at him. Why were his eyes so blue? Was that even possible? Did he wear contacts? “You’re probably wondering how I found you.”

Yusaku didn’t know if he wanted to know the answer to that. Why did Ryouken come to see him, in person? Ryouken must have seen through his usual blank expression, placing a hand on Yusaku shoulder.

He pressed a finger to his lips and smiled, “It’s a secret.”

Somehow Yusaku felt at ease, managing a small chuckle. “I see.”

They were interrupted by footsteps approaching and Yusaku was shoved backwards, Takeru now in between them.

“Takeru?”

“What the hell’s going on here?” Takeru huffed, not taking his eyes off Ryouken who didn’t seem bothered by the intrusion.

“Takeru it’s fine.” Yusaku put a hand on his shoulder, “This is my friend I told you about.”

Takeru whipped around, looking up at Yuskau. “This guy?! You can’t be serious.” Yusaku nodded.

“I see my reputation precedes me.” Ryouken chimed in once more.

Takeru looked over his shoulder, “Listen buddy, I don’t like the way you’ve been looking at Yusaku. If you have some motive behind tracking him down, you’re going to have to go through me.”

“Scary.” Ryouken smirked, noticing people starting to file into the classroom. “We can discuss this later.” He moved passed the boys, brushing harshly against Takeru as he went to take his seat.

“I don’t like that guy…” Takeru mumbled as he and Yusaku went to their own seats.

The rest of the day went by a bit slower. Takeru glaring daggers at Ryouken who in turn was watching Yusaku. Yusaku couldn’t help feeling he was in some sort of shounen manga. Once the final bell rang, Takeru was at his side.

“Do you want to head to Kusanagi’s truck right away or do we need to stop at your place?” He slung his bag over his shoulder. Yusaku shook his head, following the boy out of the classroom. Ryouken seemed to have disappeared but reappeared by the entrance of the school. Another boy was beside him, looking out of place with his fancy clothes and pretentious hair style.

“Yusaku.” Ryouken called out to him. Takeru wanted to keep walking but Yusaku stopped, heading over to the other two. “Will I see you in VRAINS later?”

“Most likely.” Yuskau nodded in respect to the fancy boy. “I apologize for my friend earlier.”

“It’s alright. He’ll just have to get used to me being around.” Ryouken waved at an angry Takeru who decided that twenty feet was a good distance between them. “I hope to beat you today as well. I revised my deck like I said I would.”

“We’ll see.” Yusaku watched as Ryouken and his friend left, Takeru returning to his side.

“You know if does anything, I’m going to deck him across the jaw.” Takeru stated bluntly.

“Please don’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: a fic about them as friends, rivals, or whatever, but featuring the three of them. if you'd like, throw Spectre in there too for extra mayhem.  
> as the ship name for those three characters is Disastershipping, can you please write something "disastrous" - be that a comedic fic or a dark, angsty despair fic? or even both.
> 
> I hope I gifted you something you would like. I went the comedy route with it with a small amount of angst- if you squint you can see it-and Spectre was there but I couldn't find a good place to add him in, plus this would have been a longer piece if I did which isn't a bad thing. But I wanted to keep it open ended and nice. I know it's late but I wanted to make sure it was perfect!~


End file.
